THE chairman of Malvern Town FC says the club will be hit in the wallet by a vandal attack that caused damage of £1,000.

Audio equipment in the press box was damaged and gutters and downpipes torn away in the attack at the club's stadium off Langland Avenue.

Chairman Chris Pinder said: "This is the first time that we've had anything like this happen in the past five years.

"It's very disappointing when were are trying to improve the club and make it a hub of the community.

"It will be possible to replace the equipment and repair the damage, but it will cost us about £1,000.

"I don't really want to claim on our insurance in case the premium is increased, so we will have to spend our own money to put it right."

The attack happened between noon on Sunday and 8.45am on Monday. Anyone with information is urged to call police on 101 quoting reference number 111s/291018.

Malvern Town FC has been in the news recently with its proposals to transform the HDanywhere Stadium having been given the green light by councillors.

If the work begins in February, it is hoped it will be completed in time for the new season in September 2019.

The plans include installing a modern artificial pitch, upgrading changing facilities to FA standards and improving the floodlighting.

The project is aimed at expanding the number of junior, girls and women’s teams, the training of more higher-level coaches and the improvement of the first team so it can compete at a higher level.

Off the pitch, it is also hoped it will allow the club to build on its range of community projects such as providing activities for young people at risk of anti-social behaviour, family fun days and holiday sport camps.